England needed a red card and a set-piece delivery from a man who had not started for them in nearly two years, but they got their first win of this Nations League campaign in Prague. Czech Republic 0, England 2, and for long stretches it was as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.
Thomas Tuchel's side lost at home to Spain in their opening fixture. This was the correction, and it came against ten men for sixty-five minutes.
Sulc goes, and the game goes with him
Pavel Sulc was the Czech Republic's most dangerous player and he was off the pitch after twenty-five minutes, sent off for a high challenge on Elliot Anderson. From that point England were barely threatened. Morgan Rogers had already struck the woodwork in the first half; the visitors were controlling the ball and the territory without anything to show for it.
Two minutes into the second half that changed. Trent Alexander-Arnold, making his first England start since October 2024, swung in a delivery that Anthony Gordon headed home. Forty-seven minutes on the clock, and a lead England were never going to give back.
Gordon and Hall, together again
Gordon had been England's best player in the defeat by Spain at Wembley and he was the most alive of them here too. He spent the evening working the left with Lewis Hall, who started at left-back, and the two of them — former Newcastle team-mates — kept finding each other in the spaces the ten-man Czech side could not cover.
Hall's cross after the break was turned on to his own post by Ladislav Krejci, the Czech captain, which would have made it two rather sooner. It did not stay 1-0 for much longer. On 69 minutes the Czech defence failed to clear and Harry Kane swept in a left-footed finish, his 87th goal in 123 England appearances.
What the night was actually for
Beyond the three points, this was a selection exercise. Alexander-Arnold's return to the starting XI after almost two years out of it is the headline of that, and the assist for Gordon answered the immediate question about whether his delivery still wins games at this level. Hall at left-back and Anderson in midfield both got ninety competitive minutes. Rio Ngumoha, called up for the first time, was named among the substitutes.
The caveat is obvious enough. England were playing against ten men from the twenty-fifth minute in a stadium where the home side had to sit deep and hope. Beating a reduced Czech Republic 2-0 does not settle the arguments that the Spain defeat opened. But the campaign needed a win and Tuchel now has one.
Match facts: Czech Republic 0-2 England, Uefa Nations League, Group 3, Prague, Tuesday 29 September 2026. Goals: Anthony Gordon 47 (assist Trent Alexander-Arnold), Harry Kane 69. Red card: Pavel Sulc (Czech Republic) 25, for a high challenge on Elliot Anderson. England XI: Trafford; Alexander-Arnold, Chalobah, Guehi, Hall; Anderson, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Rogers, Gordon; Kane. Kane's goal was his 87th in 123 England caps. England lost their opening Nations League fixture at home to Spain.
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